MARRS recruits endogenous ADAR1 for efficient RNA editing in cells and mice
Published in Biology, Drugs development & discovery, Journals, Tools.
Published October 31, 2026.
A new RNA editing system recruits a cell’s own ADAR1 enzyme using engineered RNA aptamers. The platform, called MARRS, was described October 28 in Nature Methods.
The researchers combined repeated enzyme-binding aptamers with a circular RNA scaffold. These components engage the Zα domain of ADAR1 p150 and guide adenosine-to-inosine editing at selected RNA targets, without supplying an external editing enzyme.
The authors report editing efficiencies reaching 100% in cultured-cell experiments and 84% in mouse experiments. These are maximum results under the tested conditions, rather than expected performance for every transcript or tissue.
Specificity assessments found limited off-target editing in the experiments reported. The work nevertheless remains preclinical: high editing efficiency does not establish disease correction, delivery feasibility or long-term safety in patients.
Because the approach acts on RNA, it does not require permanent alteration of genomic DNA. Some authors are named on a related patent application.
Source: Zhu, H., Zhou, Y., Huang, R. et al., Nature Methods, October 28, 2026. Read the original study.